Crawdads improve to 4-1 after taking down San Fransisco

As sophomore catcher Riley Winchell stepped into the box in the bottom of the third inning, lyrics to Furacao 2000's 'Mimosa 2000' sounded oddly similar to his last name. As the song blared over the loudspeakers at Monte Vista High School, it would be easy to mistake the words "with just" for "Winchell". 

After picking up a two RBI single in the second inning, the first two runs scored by the Crawdads, there was a feeling he would do something big. Talk around the Crawdads' dugout had been going around the past few games for who would be the first player to hit a home run in 2026. Some players had a feeling it would end up being the Livermore, CA native currently attending Chabot College.

That feeling was correct.

As a fastball, the pitch Winchell was sitting on, whizzed out of the pitcher's hand, Winchell swung and sent the ball to left center, clearing the wall to get the first Walnut Creek four bagger of the season.

Not getting the first until game five, Winchell hopes that his homer inspires the rest of the team around him, but is confident that the group is able to.

"There's plenty of dudes on this team that have stupid juice, so we could just build off of it and hopefully go and put some numbers up later in this year," Winchell said.

While Walnut Creek would score two runs after Winchell's home run, they didn't need it, as they took down San Francisco 9-4 on Sunday night.

The brunt of the damage for the Crawdads came in the bottom of the second inning. After giving up a run in the top of the first, Walnut Creek didn't hold back. Winchell's two RBI opened up the scoring before junior outfielder Shane Aldridge hit a bases-clearing three-RBI double. Senior designated hitter Ryan Ellis added on a run with a sacrifice fly to cap off an impressive six-run inning.

Making the biggest impact on the inning, Aldridge was proud to get his big moment in the inning.

"I've been struggling before, so I just wanted to really lock in on that at bat with the bases loaded," Aldridgre said. 

One of the most important aspects of the Walnut Creek offense on Sunday was picking up walks. Of the six runs to score in the second, two batters got on via a free pass. 

His team walking six times in total against San Francisco, manager Brant Cummings was pleased with the discipline from his offense.

"They're important when you can deliver hits behind it," Cummings said. "Hitting with runners in scoring position with less than two outs is critical."

Walnut Creek pitchers continued to find the strike zone. They allowed one walk and five hits on Sunday night. It is the lowest Walnut Creek total for baserunners and walks for the entire season. 

The Crawdads pitching threw 76 out of 120 pitches for strikes, good for 63.3%. 

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Dylan Scott earned the win as the starter. Scott allowed two runs on three hits and no walks through four innings. It was Scott's first conference appearance and second overall appearance as he continues to showcase his consistency. 

"(I) think our staff has been working at a really high level these past few games," Scott said. "I think we're all just kind of bought in right now. Next guy up, nobody's trying to do too much, nobody's trying to be a hero, they're just trying to get their job done at the plate, on the mound or in the field, and I think that's kind of shown in our results right now." 

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Carlos Hernandez and sophomore left-handed pitcher Michael Olsen combined for four innings of two runs (one earned), two hits, one walk and five strikeouts. 

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Weston Thornbury closed it out, throwing just 11 pitches in a one, two, three ninth. 

"We gotta be able to throw the ball over home plate and limit the opportunities," Cummings said. "No walks. We had one walk today, so it was eight Friday, four yesterday, and one today and those are difference-makers, but yeah, (they) were very good. We're excited for his opportunity."

The Crawdads' fielding continues to dominate.  The outfield, especially sophomore center fielder Dylan Perez, made plays on hard-hit balls. Whether they track it in the air or on the bounce, very few get by the defense. That remains true for the infield, who continue to gobble up any ground ball in their vicinity. 

"Super grateful, super blessed to get the opportunity today to get the start," Scott said. "I mean the defense behind us, they did an amazing job today. I tend to just try and fill up the zone and let the guys make the plays behind me, and that's what they did. So, yeah, great, great win today." 

The Crawdads will have an off day on Monday before returning home at Monte Vista High School for a rematch against San Francisco on Tuesday, June 9, at 4:00 p.m. PDT.